Find out more about dental notation from a Weybridge dentist
Dental notation is writing or speech used to associate certain specific information to a specific tooth to make things easier for dentists when referring to individual teeth. There are currently three widely used systems of this type the FDI world dental federation notation, the universal numbering system, and the Palmer notation method. The FDI system is used around the world, the universal system is predominantly used in the USA, and the Palmer notation method is mainly used in the UK. The FDI world dental notation or ISO 3950 notation was developed by the Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI). It comprises of a two digit number system in which the tooth’s type or quadrant is the first number and the second represents the tooth’s number from the middle of the face. The universal numbering system on the other hand uses letters in uppercase A-T for primary teeth and the numbers 1-32 are used for permanent teeth with it starting at the right back molar and goes round the mouth with each tooth having a unique number. The palmer notation which despite supposedly being replaced by the FDI system is still the preferred method for many dentists and students in the UK, it uses these symbols to designate which tooth type or quadrant it is ┘, └, ┐, ┌ and it also assigns a number which indicates the position from the middle or midline of the mouth, with adult teeth numbered 1 to 8 and baby teeth represented by A to E. If you need to know more about dental notation a Weybridge dental practice will have all the information you should require.